Getting to know... Tammy Jo Eckhart.Tell us a bit about your latest work.
True You 101 is my first YA novel to be published though not my first YA piece that I've written. The book follows Blake Trudeau during their second year at magic high school, a year when everyone takes a class that will challenge their views of themselves and others at the deepest levels before revealing who they truly are at the end of the year. While I didn't write it to be a counter to a certain exceedingly popular magic school series, some folks think it is a nice change of pace that is meant to be inclusive of all people (or at least mages).
What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?
I've always written. My mother was a writer, small local publications, but since her health was quite bad, others often took care of me physically while she attended to my intellectual and emotional needs (bad and good). I think writing was something she could understand and thus encouraged in me.
What inspires you to write?
I call them my muses but that is just symbolic of this feeling inside that says "write this down." I have unusual dreams that haunt me until I do write them down. I like to challenge myself, too, by tackling a new subject or a theme that I might see in an open call from a publisher. That's how True You 101 came about.
What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?
I call everything I write "edgy fiction" because I like to deal with the realities of how people interact with others and themselves. I repeatedly look at consent issues and feelings of self-worth, possibly because I'm a childhood abuse survivor.
What would be your dream project?
I'm soon to embark upon that actually because of a publishing contract I signed earlier this year.
If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?
It isn't so much improving what I wrote (I could always do that), but not believing a publisher who turned out to be dishonorable. I wouldn't have spoken with The Nazca Plains Corporation at all and found another way to get Servants of Destiny published. That was supposed to be a trilogy, but because they never sent me sales reports or royalties and have refused to stop offering the book, I'll never be able to finish that world.
Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?
I think that creative writing is a talent. You can learn skills to help you improve it, but I don't think you can learn to have an imagination that forms itself into story form. Just because you can see it all in your head, doesn't mean you have the skills to put it into a form that others can understand or even desire. This is why a good editor is necessary and finding an audience of like-inclined folks is important.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Dealing with physical pain is my greatest challenge. In 2012, I had a serious arm injury that will limit how much I can type, lift, and even just hold that arm in any position for the rest of my life. For someone who writes and types fast, this might not seem like a big deal but I went from being able to write for 4-5 hours in a row to no more than 90 minutes at once. I also tend to get illness and have severe allergies that can cause headaches. While I can do research and even write non-fiction with a headache, that doesn't work well for fiction. I need to be in the world and in the characters, not aware of this pain in my body.
How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?
There can be a sense of shared ways of thinking or mutual respect from other writers. Another writer doesn't think you can just give away your books or that everything you do should be free, they understand the work involved.
However, because of how my creative process works, I've never been a fan of writers workshops or conventions. When I've tried them, I've found few people willing to give as much as they want back. I stopped trading books for reviews because I learned that while I fulfilled my end, more often than not, the other person didn't. I'm a wanted reviewer, I'd rather people just accept that I do what I can when I can in that regard. Better to just be friends and be upfront about what you want/need from each other.
What does literary success look like to you?
I have minor literary success with 13 of my own books published and being part of at least that many published anthologies. I had bigger success early when my first two short story collections came up from one of the big publishing houses in the mid-1990s. We bought our first car and made a house downpayment from those two books. However, that company went under and left a lot of authors homeless. I've not been able to score that level of publisher power yet, though I'm hoping Liminal Press may prove to be a good small- to moderate-sized house.
Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?
I am sharing all upcoming projects first and foremost with my Patreon community. I'll share details about two more publishing contracts I've signed this year as those books are released.
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